REDBULL SUGGA
WHEN LIFE GIVES YOU THE OPPORTUNITY TO SHOOT A REDBULL SUGGA TRUCK, YOU SHOOT THE REDBULL SUGGA TRUCK. FRESHAIR GOT THE OPPORTUNITY TO SEE THIS BEAST IN PERSON, AND WE MUST SAY, IT'S SOMETHING ELSE.
THE SUGGA TRUCK STARTED OUT AS A FORD F350 AND HAD SOME SERIOUS MOD WORK DONE. WHAT WAS MODIFIED AND UPGRADED?
The Sugga gets its name and body from the 1957 Volvo Sugga TP21, originally used as an off-road communications vehicle by the Swedish Armed Forces during the Second World War. Despite its rugged good looks on the exterior, it’s what’s inside that counts. The original Volvo Sugga body is stretched, widened and merged with a Ford F350 chassis to give it the rock-solid foundation needed to handle the thousands of kilometers that the vehicle covers each year.
WHAT'S YOUR FAVORITE MODIFICATION OR FEATURE?
My most favorite feature of the vehicle is… the vehicle itself! Hahah, but honestly it's the question I get asked about it, that really make this truck my favorite feature. It’s a great conversation starter, as a car enthusiast myself, I get really eager and excited every time someone wants to know about the vehicle.So I do my best to answer the questions, kind of like you guys too!
WITH A RIDE PACKED FULL OF SO MUCH CRAZINESS, YOU MUST HAVE MORE THAN ONE FAVORITE FEATURE! TELL US ABOUT SOME OF THE OTHER COOL ASPECTS OF THIS BUILD.
Hmm, so some other really cool aspects of the build, I would say is, the opportunity and freedom to turn any location, into a cool party atmosphere! To have the mobility to drive to an urban downtown area and then to the top of a Mountain, the freedom never stops! Just by a click of a button, the Roof pops up, the trunk latch opens and reveals any DJ’s DREAM. With a Rane 62 MIXER, Pioneer CDJ’s and even Vinyl Turntables for those old school funk heads, the truck is one party that you don’t want to miss!
WE HEAR THAT THERE'S A HEAVY VOLVO INFLUENCE IN THIS RIDE - COULD YOU TELL US MORE?
So the Volvo influence actually comes from the 1957 Volvo Sugga TP21, originally used as an off-road communications vehicle by the Swedish Armed Forces during the Second World War. I think they used this specific body, because of the look of it. They liked how it was a rugged machine and something that was so rare, that it would stand out from the rest. (Only 720 made during 1953- 1958)
WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST IMPRESSION WHEN YOU SAW THE TRUCK?
My first impression? Utter SHOCK. And… I get to drive that thing?! Hahaha, it was very cool. Knowing that this was my job. To help Red Bull and third-party activations, stand out from the rest. Being the party at every event I go to. It was a really cool feeling. Still is.
DO YOU REMEMBER THE FIRST DRIVE AND EVENT YOU TOOK THIS TRUCK TOO? HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE?
So the first drive and event were actually for the University of Calgary. Every year the University throws a massive party called ‘Bermuda Shorts Day’. This occurs usually the last week of classes and when all the students are leaving for the end of year semester. Given this is my first ever activation, I was quite cautious with the vehicle, as my co-worker was helping me with activations still. So the plan behind the activation was, “we’re going to roll up to D-BLOCK (famous for college student living) set up the Sugga, have Nino (Resident DJ at Hifi Nightclub in Calgary) spin on the 1’s and 2’s and create a massive party for the College students.” - Seemed easy enough, right? Well… I roll up around 10 AM, Nino starts to play on the decks and a few students start showing up, casually. You know, having a few drinks, beer bonging off the side of the Truck. They ask if they can stand on the side rails… “Yeah that’s okay, just don’t stand on top of the truck,” I tell them. They oblige. The day passes and a few more students start showing up, so we decide to really get the party started. We turn up the volume and a flock of two hundred students show up out of nowhere! They rush over to the truck. Girls are coming up to me and asking “can we take a photo of us on the truck?” “umm, sure, I guess, just don’t sit in the middle of the hood”, I reply. They agree. So the party continues and a security officer of the building points at me and tells me to come over to where he’s standing, to chat with him, so I do. This was the TSN Turning Point… we have the conversation about the volume of the music and how the owner of the building is going to call the Cop’s and what not, so I shake my head, nodding it up and down, agreeing with everything he is saying. We both shake hands and walk our separate ways. As I turn around, I look at my truck.. Well, all I could make out was an umbrella that Nino was covered by, the rest were College Students, standing, hanging, jumping all over the truck! Over forty-five students were destroying my vehicle! I went into a panic and started to scream, yelling at them to get off! - At this point in time, the Cop’s showed up with four squad cars, two ambulance trucks, and three fire trucks. Within the time of my conversation with the security officer, a woman got launched into the air over thirty feet, off of a Coor’s light beer blow up can, which she broke her arm and fractured her knee… and respectively called the cavalry... Yes... Cop’s on Horses… There were Cops on Horses... Four to be exact... The event had caused such a raucous, that over five hundred students had shown up to the D-BLOCK, that the firetrucks almost had to hose the students out. I looked at my truck, by the end of it all, the damage came to over seven hundred dollars and I almost lost my job... And that was my first ever experience with an event and College students, hahaha.
What's the craziest event you've been to in the Sugga?
The craziest event I’ve ever been too? Hmm, besides the College experience of Bermuda Shorts Day? Id have to say, the Driven Auto Show, in Winnipeg, Manitoba. They host the Driven Auto Show at the Raceway center in Winnipeg in which curates to both indoor and outdoor enthusiasts of the car community. Last year we decided to have the Sugga be part of the drifting show! It was the coolest experience ever. (I’m huge car nerd, so I was in heaven) We decided to park the Sugga out on the track, with hundreds of spectators in the crowd watching, we got the professional drifters to do competitive donuts around the vehicle, slowly getting closer. Inch by inch to the vehicle. It made for a great time and crazy photos. I’m hoping we get the opportunity to do it again this year.